Huayu: As a child star, I just want to be famous

Chapter 352 Respect from the World

On the 5th day of the Cannes Film Festival, which was the first Sunday after the opening, the highly anticipated Chinese-language film "Sunset" held its premiere at the Film Palace.

As the two directors of the film, both Chen Linfeng and Zhang Yimou are celebrities with considerable influence at home and abroad.

Furthermore, the distribution company was not hired for nothing, as they did a lot of publicity and promotion work during the film festival.

These include various large-scale advertising posters that were set up early, brochures distributed at various events and parties, and media publicity that has been ongoing since the film festival opened.

Every single one of them cost a lot of money.

Of course, Chen Linfeng didn’t care much about it. This was what he had the least of right now.

Therefore, after the fame spread, many media coming to the Cannes Film Festival became interested in "Sunset".

Plus the fans of Zhang Yimou and Chen Linfeng.

This number is too much.

Just speaking of film festivals, Zhang Yimou's reputation might be more useful than his.

To sum up, the tickets for the screenings in the previous two days were almost sold out.

The invitation to the premiere is even more precious.

There were always people waiting outside the Cinema Palace, holding up a sign and exchanging extra invitations with others.

And this time, almost no one will let go of the invitation.

The entire screening room was almost full of audiences.

In the past few days, Chen Linfeng and Zhang Yimou attended many evening parties and parties elsewhere.

Although the purpose was clear, which was mainly to communicate with the judges, I also made friends with my colleagues in the industry.

So, in addition to some celebrities known in China, such as Li An, Zhang Ziyi, Chen Kun, Qin Hao, etc., as well as foreign friends with whom they already have a good relationship, such as Quentin, Brad Pitt, Martin Freeman, etc., came to participate in the premiere.

There were also new acquaintances such as Swinton and Haneke who came to show their support.

This time, Chen Linfeng did not go with Liu Qianqian as he did in the past, but with You Benchang and Zhang Yimou.

In contrast, Liu Qianqian and teacher Lu Zhong followed behind them.

The old man was not used to such occasions, but after all, he had experienced a lot, so he was very calm.

According to the process, the audience had already entered the venue in advance, and as the main creators, they were the last to enter.

The audience applauded the four of them as a welcome to the film's creators.

Chen Linfeng and his group were seated in the middle of the front row. They first stood and gestured to the audience for the media to take pictures, and then sat down and waited for the movie to begin.

Soon, the lights dimmed, the discussions of the audience in the back gradually weakened and disappeared, and the big screen in the front lit up.

The story of the movie is not complicated.

The protagonists are a loving old couple, who are retired teachers from a music conservatory.

Although they have experienced many ups and downs, they are still very loving when they grow old.

We always hang out together and occasionally go to a concert together.

However, suddenly one day, the old lady Lu Li suffered a stroke and the surgery was unsuccessful.

From then on, Lv Li could no longer stand up and could only rely on her husband for help.

Xu Hongzhi loved Lü Li very much and didn't think this was a hard thing.

In his opinion, he and his wife were just changing their lifestyle, and their pensions were enough to support their lives.

Xu Hongzhi took on the responsibility of taking care of his wife, buying groceries, cooking, washing clothes, and cleaning.

He even enjoyed it and didn't think it was a hard job.

However, Lu Li couldn't accept it. She had always been proud and confident, but now she could only rely on others. Even going to the toilet and washing required help. It was too hard.

When the students came to visit her, Lu Li saw the look in their eyes. The deep pity and sympathy dealt a heavy blow to her dignity.

One day, Xu Hongzhi came back and saw his wife sitting under the windowsill with the window open and a wheelchair lying beside her.

It was obvious that she wanted to commit suicide but failed.

Xu Hongzhi didn't say anything, he just helped his wife up.

The affection between husband and wife is useful after all. With the encouragement of Xu Hongzhi, Lv Li cheered herself up and started rehabilitation to try to recover.

However, Lu Li's condition worsened further, and she could not move her upper body except her head.

In this case, the difficulty of care reaches a new level.

The granddaughter tried to hire a caregiver, but Lu Li couldn't accept being treated like an object and manipulated.

So Xu Hongzhi had to secretly fire the caregiver and take care of the child himself.

But at this time, the company of her family was of no use, and all Lu Li felt was torture.

Torture yourself and torture others.

She began to rebel, refused care, and even deliberately spit out the food that was fed into her mouth.

Once, Xu Hongzhi couldn't control his emotions and slapped Lu Li for the first time in his life.

This slap woke him up completely.

Maybe it's time to say goodbye.

Liu Qianqian watched on the big screen as Teacher You Benchang picked up the pillow, and Teacher Lu Zhong seemed to have expected it and even breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, the pillow was pressed up and took up the entire screen.

There was a struggle, but it seemed as if there was not. I didn't know if it was because of the illness that he was too weak to struggle, or if the person under the pillow was forcing himself to endure it.

Liu Qianqian felt a strong shock.

She had not seen the whole film before, only the script. Although she felt some emotion at the time, it was not strong.

However, when this scene appeared on screen, she felt an extreme emotion.

Can't tell exactly what that is.

Maybe it's a pity?
She felt this feeling in her heart and trembled inexplicably.

The audience present had the same feeling, and the entire screening room was unusually silent.

The plot on the big screen was still moving forward. Xu Hongzhi came back from outside and bought his wife's favorite flowers. He cut the flowers, made them into a ring, and placed them on his wife's body.

I lay down next to her and tried out different sleeping positions.

Then, there seemed to be a knock on the door outside, and the old man walked to the door and opened it.

The camera did not show who the person outside was. It only showed that Xu Hongzhi looked very happy and was about to go out. He did not forget to take his coat from the hanger and put it on.

Just like when he used to go out with his wife.

The picture gradually fades to black, and the camera turns to show the police appearing in the couple's house.

They covered their mouths and noses and broke down the door.

The movie ends here.

When Liu Qianqian was reading the script, she wondered whether Xu Hongzhi was dead or not. She didn't expect that the movie would be like this.

She asked in a low and hesitant voice, "Xiaofeng, the old man...should not be dead."

Chen Linfeng tilted his head slightly, "It's clearly stated in the movie."

Liu Qianqian was about to ask more questions when applause began to be heard from the audience in the back.

Chen Linfeng pulled Liu Qianqian up, and including Zhang Yimou, You Benchang and Lu Zhong beside him, as well as other important creators of the play, everyone stood up together, turned around and bowed to the audience.

The audience also stood up one by one, and the applause went from sparse to enthusiastic, and then continued for a long time, about 5 minutes.

Chen Linfeng heard people say that when you are in Cannes, when the movie ends and you stand up to accept the applause from the audience, you will feel the world's respect for movies.

He now deeply felt what respect was.

This is respect!
In fact, the narrative of the whole movie is very slow, and it is not that kind of refreshing movie.

But the audience present were either industry professionals or veteran movie fans themselves.

They are very receptive to this kind of literary and artistic work which is slow but as gentle as a stream and soothes the heart.

Also because the plot is so touching, they can better understand the emotions of the characters in the film.

The almost identical reactions from people around them made them more convinced that this was a good film and worthy of encouragement.

So they applauded even more enthusiastically.

At this time, Chen Linfeng and Zhang Yimou took You Benchang and Lu Zhong to the stage together.

When the fans saw the male and female protagonists in the film, the old couple, appear, their emotions became even more excited.

They began to cheer.

“C'est bien fait (Well done)!”

"Nice movie!"

The atmosphere was extremely lively. The movie had already ended and it was time for everyone to go home.

However, many fans were reluctant to leave and crowded to the front.

At this time, even those who had come for Chen Linfeng or Zhang Yimou's fame in the beginning, now focused their attention on the two protagonists and kept expressing their feelings.

Chen Linfeng temporarily served as the translator.

"Old man, you performed so well in the play, there is no trace of acting at all."

“I love your performance so much, watching you, I think of my grandparents.

They were just like in the movies, very loving, but unfortunately, illness also separated them.”

"Ma'am, I can understand you very well. I've had a serious illness before, and I know how it feels to be weak and helpless."

"Thank you for the wonderful performance. I had a wonderful trip."

"What a great cast! I really regret not discovering you guys until now."

"..."

Chen Linfeng watched as fans came forward one by one to express their love or respect for You Benchang or Teacher Lu Zhong.

He did not feel ignored at all, but was filled with joy.

After all, this was what he created.

Well, there is also a role for Zhang Yimou.

Zhang Yimou on the side was also all smiles. He felt very happy as he listened to Chen Linfeng translating the excitement of the fans.

Their premiere is at 7pm, and will be accompanied by a red carpet walk, a film screening, and subsequent interactions with fans and interviews with reporters.

That's basically the end of the night.

Chen Linfeng and Liu Qianqian were on their way back to the hotel together.

Liu Qianqian held his hand and said nothing.

Chen Linfeng asked curiously, "Why don't you speak?"

"I remembered what you said before, and it turned out to be in the movie,"

Liu Qianqian's eyes were blurred with tears. "The old man accompanied me to die, right?"

Chen Linfeng sighed and wiped away the tears from her eyes. "Don't you understand? It's clearly shown in the movie."

He deliberately used a teasing tone and said, "You are the only one who is so slow to react. You only figured it out now."

"Hate it!" Liu Qianqian raised her fist and hit him, "Is this the time to talk about this?"

Chen Linfeng laughed, hugged his girlfriend and walked forward, "The movie is over, all emotions should be left in the movie. Our Sunset is very popular, now is the time to be happy?"

……

The next morning, the crew of "Sunset" held a press conference.

Chen Linfeng mainly invited domestic media, but many foreign media also came upon hearing the news.

After the premiere of "Sunset" last night, the response was very good, and some media that attended the premiere gave high praise to the film.

This aroused the interest of some other media.

And because of the lack of time last night, some reporters barely had the chance to ask many questions, so there were quite a few media present today.

(End of this chapter)